Steve Saint Paralyzed, Trusting God to “Write This Chapter, Too”

Most of us remember the incredible story of the five martyred missionaries (killed January 8, 1956) who engaged in Operation Auca, a mission to bring the gospel to the Waodani people of Ecuador – Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian. We learned mostly about this through Elizabeth Elliot’s book Through Gates of Splendor. (1956).

A number of years ago, Steve Saint, Nate’s son, not only wrote about this, End of the Spear (Wheaton: Tyndale, 2005), but there was also a movie produced about this historical event: “Beyond the Gates of Splendor” (2005). There was much that I learned through this retelling by Steve and how he worked through the loss of his father, his return to these people to whom God called his parents, and his absolute trust in the sovereignty of God, cf. “Did They Have to Die?,” Christianity Today 40/10 (September 16 1996).

Saint founded the Indigenous People’s Technology and Education Center (I-TEC) to build on the vision of his missionary-pilot father. Earlier this month, Saint was injured and paralyzed in an accident as he was testing “an experimental wing mounted to a vehicle.”

Jeremy Weber, “Steve Saint Partly Paralyzed Testing New Missionary Tech,” Christianity Today (June 13[Web-only], 2012), writes of the accident with an update from the I-TEC. Steve is about trusting God and following Him and allowing Him to write your story. He faces this new challenge with the same trust.

Steve’s ministry theme for the last decade has been “Let God Write Your Story.” Shortly after being flown by helicopter to Shands Teaching Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Steve told his family, “let’s let God write this chapter, too.”

Saint brings a six-minute video message from his hospital bed, “The Next Chapter.” Listen to this message, ponder this life of faith as an example of God’s grace, pray for Steve, his family and the ministry, learn to trust God more deeply in your own life of living by faith. As Paul wrote, “those who are righteous by faith, they are the ones who live by faith” (Rom. 1:17, my paraphrased translation).

Greg Strand

Affectionately called “Walking Bible” by his youngest daughter, Greg Strand has a ministry history that goes back to 1982. Since that time, he has served in local church ministry in a variety of ministry capacities: youth pastor, associate pastor of adult ministries and senior pastor. He is currently the EFCA's Executive Director of Theology and Credentialing. Greg reads voraciously and never stops learning — a passion reflected in the overflowing bookshelves that spill from his library to multiple offices. And he could tell you about each of those books! His hunger for learning pales in contrast to his great love for God and for teaching the Word of God.